Cover Image: A Higher Calling

A Higher Calling

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Member Reviews

A Higher Calling is both a love story and an adventure story all in one. Beautifully narrated by husband and wife Harold and Rachel Earls, this book captured my attention from the start and changed me on many levels. I loved how both authors' unique voices were portrayed and I feel like I got to know both of them as friends by the time the book ended. Their love story is so sweet and inspiring, and changed my perspective on my own future romance. This book deepened my faith and convictions, made me laugh, cry, and rejoice with Harold and Rachel, and inspired and uplifted me! I cannot recommend it enough if you are looking for a good read to do any of those above things. To say this book blessed me would be an understatement!

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley for promotional purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

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"A Higher Calling" had me in tears more times than I can count. I've been following the Earls family online for a while now, and their story has left such a big impression on me.

They're so good-hearted, spread love and good energy that one just can't miss. All that and more is what the book does. The way they tell their story is inspiring and really enjoyable. I loved how the book was set up - the different perspectives of Rachel and Harold. It felt like the reader was part of their story at each specific moment.

It is one of the most real books I've read so far. Their story had me laughing, crying and just appreciating life even more.

Everyone should read it for themselves!

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I have been following Harold and Rachel Earls on YouTube, Earls Family Vlog. Check them out.
This book is from when they met and to the start of their marriage This is not a typical 20 something marriage. im 56 and i've not seen that kind of adventure in life.

They are a faith based family and it a great example of how one of faith deals with the difficult situations. I am reading and nodding my head at times when i've had my moments of doubt. Or moments of refocus and listening to God.

Harold and Rachel Earls, Thank you for sharing your intense at times life and the funny side of y'all as well. Thank y0u for sharing your faith.

Please read the book. An Army ex-wife and Mom of an Army soldier Thank you for what you do.

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I have been following this couple for years via their Earls Family Vlog channel on YouTube. Watching their lives evolve and their extreme connection with God, you can instantly tell they are genuine humans who are striving for change. This book goes into depth how they had met, the battles they had faced during their first year of marriage, Harold SURVIVING his amazing, yet terrifying, climb on Mount Everest, and how one man watched over their lives and said “This Is Not The End!” There content is so real and relatable that you will laugh, cry, and feel the spirit of God while you read more and more. I had received the Editors Edition in April just before my D&C, boy did I need God!! I had loved this book so much that I had purchased another Hard Copy. When you find good people and an amazing author, you do all you can to support their success and share their book. This being said, it is 06/03/2020 and I will be receiving a TOTAL OF 13 HARD COPY BOOKS!! I will be gifting them to my family members, friends, and anyone I come across who may need the guidance to believe in him!

“When you feel like there is no solution to your troubles, like there is no where else you can turn.. There will ALWAYS be A Higher Calling!!” -Libby J

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A Higher Calling by Hatold and Rachel Earls is a heartwarming sorry about love, faith, and adventure. This book will make you smile, laugh, and cry... Several times. This book is beautifully written and feels like you are reading about friends. It also makes one reflect on their own relationships and faith. A must read!

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This book will be one that young adults who are thinking about healthy, faith-based relationships might find helpful and interesting. Bot Rachel and Harold get to share their feelings and their faith journeys as they share their story. I was attracted by the Mt. Everest angle, but that aspect fell flat for me, as I wanted more than was presented...more action, suspense, technical maneuvers, etc.
Readers will feel like these two could be their friends.

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A Higher Calling is the compelling true story of one couple’s courage and commitment, devotion and faith in the face of high adventure, unexpected adversity, and spine-tingling danger.

Co-authored by Harold and Rachel Earls, Higher is equal parts biography/memoir, love story, epic adventure, travelogue, and faith-journey. It’s a delightful, uplifting read about two people who sacrifice much to achieve a common goal: summiting personal and actual “Mount Everests.”

Rachel and Harold take turns narrating their story. Although co-narrated books can be jarring, A Higher Calling isn’t one of them. The story flows seamlessly between narrators and is briskly paced. Sentences are short and pithy. The style is fluid and easy. Chapters are peppered with dated entries to provide a coherent chronology of events as they unfold. Transitions are smooth, whetting readers’ appetites so they can’t resist turning the page and finding out What. Happens. Next?! (I read the whole book cover-to-cover in one sitting.)

Harold is a senior at West Point. Hard-charging and determined, this guy makes the Energizer Bunny look like a piker. Rachel is a college student who wants more from life than a career and a paycheck.

They meet through Facebook and proceed to fall heads over heels in love. After Harold pops the question, the couple hits a snag: After graduation, Harold plans to tackle the world’s highest mountain despite little to no actual high altitude climbing experience. He later realizes that taking on Mount Everest requires a goal bigger than himself. With Rachel’s encouragement, Harold decides to climb in order to raise PTSD awareness and provide encouragement “to veterans in the midst of climbing their own mountains of adversity.”

The couple creates and edits promotional videos highlighting their cause, fund-raises, and founds “Team Hungry.” They’re still newlyweds when Harold leaves for a summit attempt on “the widow maker.” And more than a few hair-raisers.

In the process, Rachel realizes that supporting her fiance’s (and then her husband’s) goal may cost her everything, including the loss of the love of her life. She frankly describes her fears and anxieties regarding Harold’s bid for the top of the world.

Meanwhile, Harold chronicles how thoughts of Rachel keep him going during a dangerous Mount Everest descent in a treacherous storm. In fact, Harold’s piquant descriptions of his icy climbing adventure may make you want to grab another blanket. Or crank up the furnace.

Rachel and Harold’s inspiring journey of faith, self-awareness and personal and professional growth is generously documented with excerpts from journals, letters, text messages, and a collection of photos following the Epilogue. Several chapters include links to news stories or Rachel’s You Tube account. (Reading on my Kindle, the news story links worked fine. The You Tube links generated error messages.)

Along the way, they learn:
• To make decisions based on what’s best for the family, not just oneself
• To be a “team player” in marriage
• To focus on “us” and not “me”
• The importance of mentors and personal heroes
• The consequences of summit fever
• Sherpas are indispensable
• Why you do not want to experience a communication “deficiency” on Everest’s North Col.
• Why you should always check the “common sense” box
• Why you do not want to get stuck in Everest’s “Rainbow Valley”
• The mission shouldn’t come at the expense of the team
• Step. Pray. Repeat.

This inspirational story is chatty without being trite. The story flows easily, like a kitchen table conversation. A skillfully weft love story, A Higher Calling also describes the importance of mutual commitment, and a firm faith foundation as relational anchors. Candor, warmth, and humor arrive in Himalayan-sized dollops.

Additionally, the voices are fresh and frank, as refreshing as a cup of cool water on a hot summer day. The story also offers rare insights into the challenges faced by military spouses and the military community while exalting the Greatest Lover of All. By the end of this book you’ll feel like Harold and Rachel are your new best friends.


That being said, here’s a little caveat: While the relational and marital advice offered by the Earls is solid, it sounds a bit presumptuous coming from two twenty-somethings.

Even so, A Higher Calling is a solid, enjoyable read. Outdoor lovers, adventurers, dreamers and couples who are seriously dating, engaged, or newlyweds will benefit from and enjoy this book. Ditto anyone who cherishes a true life story told well.

#AHigherCalling #NetGalley

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This is an amazing book that being a 13 year old impacted greatly and opened my eyes as to how the world is. I would recommend this book to anybody because it is amazing!!!

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Through hard times Harold and Rachel can overcome their worst experiences.

It brings what is needed for togetherness.
Emotions are set aside and to focus on the love they have for each other to move forward with their relationship.
Sacrifices are made to be a happy couple to enjoy what they have in the best of ways. It worth every moment to be together with the one you love and that I see in this extraordinary book.

A way to be in love, to achieve their goals and to make it work.

Any obstacle is overturned to form a greater bond in their relationship.

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Reading this reminds me a lot on a similar book by Jeremy and Audrey Roloff called "A Love Letter Life". Rachel and Harold Earls shared their first "phone call" love, how they are attracted to each other, and up until their married life.

Some of their stories are very inspiring, especially on how they come through the difficulties of long-distance relationships. One of the highlights is their win against the battle of lust by becoming pure. Their choice to exercise love by being patient is a message and a testament to young couples nowadays.

The only thing I cannot get out from my head is to understand how does reaching the summit of Mount Everest is fulfilling God’s plan. Harold Earls, with his background in military -without any prior mountain climbing experiment- has one thing on his mind: reaching the summit of mount Everest. With the help of Rachel, they plan to build a cause to prevent suicides by soldiers with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). I hope to see how does their cause affect other people with PTSD, because it doesn’t get enough attention after the mission have completed.

But still….meeting another person who has the same conviction and commitment for God is a miracle itself. It’s a God thing to be able to have someone who is loving and rooting for you to climb out of the mountain of the shadow of death (literally!), and I think reading this book made believe that God does works in mysterious ways. God does work wonderfully for those who loved Him, and from this book Harold and Rachel Earls clearly shows that.

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I have seen the viral videos of The Earls Family from Rachel's pregnancy announcements and I vaguely remembered on about getting a new car. Weird, I know, but it led me to requesting this book to review early and let me just say, I loved it. Harold and Rachel just have such a deep love for one another but more importantly, for God. I love the altering point-of-views, and the way they plan on attaching videos to their website so that you can see video footage from what you've just read. It will be such a wonderful journey for the reader and I loved the way Mt. Everest brought the book all together. I can't recommend this book enough!

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book! Rachel and Harold both wrote it as if they were sitting across from you telling you their story, the laughs and tears along with it. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great love story that is God-centered and guides the reader to grow deeper in their faith. I’m already telling friends how amazing this book is and can’t wait for them to be able to get it as well!

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I love their YouTube blogs. But love the exert even more. it is good to get an inside look and more detail. I am so excited to read the rest of the book. thank you so much for sharing

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WHAT AN AMAZING READ!!! This book is truly a work of love, and boy does it show! Rachel and Harold take you through their amazing love story/first year of marriage, they share their ups and downs. I personally love that you both chose to be vulnerable when sharing about your relationship with God throughout out your journey. An amazing book to read during quarantine especially, you two present a way for your reader (of many ages not just married couples) to grow their faith through hearing your story. Thank you for writing your amazing story and sharing. And lastly I cannot recommend this book enough, you will not regret the time you will spend reading this book and getting closer to the lord!

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A Higher Calling was an absolute treasure to read. Harold and Rachel share their raw and honest emotions as they let the reader walk through their journey with them. Harold shares his harrowing experience on Mt Everest; which possibly could of been worse that it was and the lessons he learns as a "new" husband while Rachel shares how she manages back at home; often alone and not knowing exactly what her husband was doing and the difficulties this bought. The sheer joy that was felt when they were both reunited. May we all begin to truly appreciate those around us and the time we have with them.

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